


Gakuen Hell

by Vinceroony



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Countries Using Human Names, Gen, Horror
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-17
Updated: 2016-05-17
Packaged: 2018-06-09 03:05:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 7
Words: 5,751
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6887002
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vinceroony/pseuds/Vinceroony
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It seemed to be just another day at school for Kiku. It was all business as usual until he realised something odd. Outside every window were large cherry trees in full bloom. Only, no one else had noticed them. When he got a closer look, he saw just how bizarre they actually were.</p><p>(Originally I posted this on Quotev, but I decided to bring it here since archive isn't blocked on my wifi.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Cherry Blossums

        It was two minutes before class would end, and Kiku had already packed up his things. Today Feliciano had various club meetings to go to, Ludwig a track meeting to attend, and Alfred was busy setting things up for a Halloween party. Since most of his friends were busy, he figured he'd use this time to study quietly in the library. Once the bell rang, he headed out to the hall which soon flooded with students. In attempt to get out of the crowded halls faster, Kiku moved faster at the expense of not looking where he was going.  
       For the first couple of minutes, things went swimmingly. That would soon end, as Kiku had walked right into someone going the opposite direction. After all his books had fallen on the floor, Kiku looked up and saw his friend Arthur. They both earnestly apologised as the picked up the fallen books.  
        "Where were you heading in such a rush?" Arthur asked as he handed Kiku his books.  
        "Oh, just to the library for a bit," Kiku replied.  
        "I was about to head there too, after getting some things from my locker," Arthur said, "I suppose I'll meet you there."  
        Kiku agreed then continued to walk to the library. On his way there, he looked at one of the windows. Through the window,he saw what looked like cherry blossom trees in full bloom. Kiku's first reaction was that he was hallucinating, after all cherry blossoms don't bloom in October. They bloom in spring, not autumn. Kiku rubbed his eyes and looked once more, and instead of the cherry blossoms blew dried leaves among branches that were becoming bare. He decided that it was just his imagination and continued on.  
        Once there, he sat down at a table and began to work away. While working, he looked at the windows a few times. All he saw were autumn coloured leaves blowing across the campus. Kiku began to become distracted from his work, he kept wondering if he had really imagined those cherry blossoms; and if so, why he did. He put down his pen and began to think a little. He looked at the windows once more, then he saw them. The cherry blossoms in full bloom. This time he decided to investigate and got up to walk over to the windows.  
        On his way to the windows, he tripped over someone's bag and nearly landed face first on the floor. He quickly sat up and looked to the windows again. There were no cherry blossoms, it was just as it had been before. Kiku sighed and just as he was about to stand up, he saw a hand held out in front of him. He looked up to see the face of Francis, whom bared an apologetic expression.  
         "I'm sorry, mon ami. I shouldn't have had my bag sticking out like that," Francis said softly.  
         "It's alright, Francis," Kiku smiled gently while taking Francis's hand.  
         Francis promptly helped Kiku to his feet and brushed any amount of dust that was on Kiku's clothes. Kiku thanked him and released his hand. He glanced towards the window, again seeing nothing out of the ordinary, then turned back to Francis.  
         "By any chance, have you seen cherry blossoms outside the windows?" Kiku asked politely.  
         "Not since June," Francis said shaking his head, "Why do you ask?"  
         "For some strange reason, I keep seeing them outside the windows," Kiku answered.  
         "Do you think it was your imagination?" Francis asked.  
         "I don't know why I would imagine that," Kiku said whilst gently shaking his head, "I'm not sure whether it was my imagination or not."  
         "Perhaps you were imagining something pleasant out of stress," Francis suggested, "You have been working rather hard lately."  
         Kiku pondered that for a moment. He had been feeling stress creep up on him lately. He's had very little time to relax due to the plethora of school assignments he had due; not to mention a test that was next week. For all he knew, Francis could be right and he could very well be hallucinating out of stress.  
         "I think you might be right," Kiku said softly, "I may need to find some time to relax."  
         "Lucky for you, I'll be happy to help with that," Francis chuckled.  
         "Like hell you will!" Kiku heard Arthur shout from behind him.  
         Francis looked to Arthur and one of their infamous arguments soon began. Most of it was merely name calling and insults towards each other. Unlike most times, this one didn't end in physical violence. In fact, it didn't seem to end at all before Kiku decided to pack up his things and head home. They didn't even seem to notice him leaving. As close friends as Kiku was with Arthur and Francis, being with them at the same time was nearly impossible. He was already practically drowning in stress, having to be in the middle of their argument would certainly not help.  
         On his way to his locker, he passed another window. When he looked at it, there were the cherry blossoms once more. Suddenly, he realised something. It had been windy all day, but the cherry blossoms appeared motionless. Not a single sway, nor did any blossoms blow away in the wind. This time, Kiku had to know. He walked closer to the window, and the closer he got, the less they looked like trees. When he had finally got close enough, it was very clear that these were not cherry blossoms. What Kiku assumed to be the blossoms, were actually a series of red hand prints. Where he thought were branches, were streaks or dark brown ooze.  
          Blinded by panic, Kiku rushed around the next corner and hid behind it for several minutes. After some time passed, Kiku peered around the corner and looked towards the window. There were no hand prints, no streaks of ooze, and definitely no cherry blossoms. His mind was racing. He couldn't help but wonder if this really was his imagination, if he really were just seeing these things out of stress. There was one thing he knew for certain; he wanted to go home. He needed to relax after being so terrified.


	2. A Time of Relaxing

        Days had passed, and Kiku had been seeing the hand prints more frequently. There seemed to be no escape from them. He'd see them while in class, eating lunch with his friends, working on assignments, and even while going to the bathroom. Kiku quickly became overwhelmed by stress and fear. On top of all this, sleep became nearly impossible. All night he would wonder if he'd start seeing the hand prints while he was at home; or maybe that he'd start seeing them no matter where he is. Kiku was too exhausted to work on anything, and it didn't take his friends very long to notice.  
         Ludwig and Feliciano often tried to get Kiku to tell them what was bothering him, but he never let it out. Talking to them about hallucinating and paranoia may make them think he's going crazy. For all Kiku knew, he may as well be. Feliciano suggested that the three of them go over to his house to watch some movies, eat some snack and generally have a good time. Kiku gladly agreed, he didn't want to be alone and this sounded like just what he needed. After the final bell rang, they three of them got their jackets and headed for Feliciano's house.  
         Feliciano had a very pretty house; it was spacious, had plenty of flowers and various decorations, and had a very relaxing atmosphere. There was only one thing that bothered Kiku at the time, the house was loaded with windows. After Feliciano got the snacks and Ludwig picked out some movies, Kiku asked if they could close the curtains in the room. To his friends this didn't seem like an odd request, watching movies in a dark room was more fun anyway. When they were all sitting on the couch, they began their marathon of movies.  
         Most of the movies were comedy or romance types, with the occasional mystery movie. After the first half hour of the first movie, Kiku began to feel more at ease. A while longer and he was actually enjoying himself. Among being with his friends, watching fun movies and eating good food, he finally felt relaxed. Above all, he felt safe.  
         Once all the movies had finished it was very late, too late to be going home at this point. Feliciano brought his friends to a couple of guest rooms and bade them goodnight before heading to his own. Kiku closed every curtain in the room then laid down on the bed and pulled the covers over him. The blanket's embrace warmed Kiku quickly. For the first time in days, Kiku fell asleep rather quickly and stayed asleep. He hadn't a nightmare in his head that night.  
         The next day, Ludwig, Feliciano and Kiku headed to school together. They headed for their lockers, business as usual. It was all calm and quiet until Feliciano looked at one of the windows and said, "Hey guys, do you see those pretty trees outside?" Kiku's body grew cold as he turned to the window. As Feliciano had said, the "trees" were there once again. Without a word, Kiku ran to his locker and quickly got his things for class. Kiku was unable to think clearly for the rest of the morning.


	3. A Sinking Feeling

         Of all the things on Kiku's mind, algebra was not one of them. His mind became infused with fearful yet curious thoughts. He wasn't the only one who saw them any more. This was certainly no hallucination. Whatever this was, it was real, and anyone could be able to see it. He was still shaking from the thought of it. What does this mean? Kiku thought, It's a bad omen, I can feel it.  
          "Mr. Honda, are you listening?" the teacher asked.  
          "Huh? O-oh hai, sir!" Kiku replied snapping out of his train of thought.  
          Kiku had fibbed, all he heard from his teacher for the past hour was mumbling. Too deep in thought to understand a word. He began to realise that this was going to affect more than his state of mind; it'd affect his grades and personal life, too. He had to concentrate now more than ever if he would ever get his life on track. Kiku looked at his page and attempted some of the questions. He understood some of them, but most he had no idea. He had been so out of it, he barely noticed how much he was actually missing.  
          Soon the lunch bell rang and most of the other students left. Kiku began packing up his things when someone walked up to him. He looked up and saw Francis, whom was visibly very worried. Francis asked if he could give him a hand, to which Kiku gratefully accepted. Francis helped Kiku pack up his things quickly.  
           "I could help you catch up on some of the things you don't understand," Francis offered.  
           "Arigato, that would be much appreciated," Kiku nodded as he picked up his stuff.  
           "Kiku, could I ask you something?" Francis asked, "It might be a little personal, I'm just concerned about you."  
           "I don't mind, go ahead," Kiku replied.  
           "What has gotten you so spooked, mon ami?" Francis asked and put his hand on Kiku's shoulder in attempt to comfort him, "You've been so distant and have been tuning everything out, it's not like you."  
            Kiku thought for a second on whether or not he should tell Francis. He's already told him about the "cherry blossoms", the hand prints shouldn't make much of a difference. If Francis were to think he's gone crazy, he likely would have said so earlier.  
            "What  saw wasn't what I thought I saw," Kiku said in a soft, shaky voice, "They were hand prints...lots of red hand prints."  
            "Kiku...I think I see what you're talking about..." Francis's voice trailed off as he looked to the windows, his eyes widened with fear.  
            Kiku turned to the window, and instead of being in the shape of cherry blossoms, red hand prints covered the entire window. The whole room was tinted red. Kiku grabbed Francis's wrist and headed for the door. He grabbed the handle and tried to turn it, but it would not budge. He shook the door by it's handle, only managing to jiggle the door some. There was no opening this door, so the two of them searched for another way out. The windows were out of the question; this classroom was on the third floor, even if they weren't terrified of the windows it would too big a distance to just jump out. They saw an air vent, and Francis held Kiku up on his shoulders to get to it. However, the vent was so small that even if they had managed to open it not even Kiku could fit.  
            As Francis let Kiku down, the whole room began to shake. A loud rumble quickly followed. Suddenly they felt it jolt downward, at first it was only a short one, but then the jolts became larger. Kiku looked out the window, and nearly half the window was underground. The room kept shaking, and with every jolt they were sinking lower. Kiku's body ridged and nearly stiff amid his shaking. He couldn't manage to make more than a horrified whimper. Francis soon took notice, and wrapped his arms around Kiku. Kiku clung fearfully to him, and soon the room grew dark. The two of them could still hear the roaring of the building sinking downward. It was the only way they knew they weren't dead.  
          After what felt like hours, the rumbling had come to a halt. The room no longer shook or jolted. Everything was still. The ceiling lamps turned on, filling the room with a dim light. Francis looked at the windows, which were now cracked and covered in so much dirt that there was no possible way of seeing the outside. Throughout the room were fallen shelves, broken parts of the walls and ceiling, and debris scattered on everything. For a while, the two just stayed there practically motionless. Staying where they were felt much safer than moving.


	4. It Came From the Locker Room

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jett - One of the potential human names of Australia as listed by Himaruya; along with Ralph, Christian and Kyle.

        Kiku soon calmed down and let go of Francis. He got up and carefully walked over to the door with Francis. Kiku tried the doorknob, and this time it was unlocked. Slowly and cautiously, he opened the door. He peered out into the hallway, and it was in worse condition than the classroom. There were holes in the ceiling and in the floor. A support beam and other rubble had fallen in front of a door down the hall, completely blocking it off. In a larger and more open area near the stairs, a column had collapsed with the ceiling around it caved in; making a hill-like mound to the next floor. Most lockers were horribly smashed in or dented, very few were unscathed. Besides the debris and the holes, there wasn't much more. No signs of anyone being out there, and it was relatively quiet; apart from the creaking of the building.  
        Kiku and Francis warily slipped out of the classroom and into the hall. Dust from the surroundings made the air hard to breath in, but not much could be done about that. Suddenly a screaming erupted from the closed off room. The two of them headed towards the door with the fallen beam in front of it to see who was still in there. They called out to the person behind the door, and heard a familiar voice yell back. However, it was too muffled to tell just who it was.  
        "Help me, please!" they cried, "I'm trapped and can't move, please help me! There's a hole in the wall through to the next room over, you can get to me there!"  
        Without hesitation, Kiku and Francis darted for the room next to this one. Just as they said, the wall had collapsed making a big hole in it. They quickly climbed through the hole. They saw a pile of rubble with someone trapped under it. The person whom was trapped was Ludwig. His legs were covered by another beam and chunks of cement, and surely had been crushed under the weight. Kiku and Francis immediately tried to pull the debris off Ludwig, but it was all much too heavy for just the two of them to move. They would have needed at least three other people just to move the beam. They managed to remove much of the concrete chunks, but others were just too large.  
        Their only other option right now was to pull Ludwig out. Much of the pressure should have been removed, so it shouldn't have took much to do so. Only, it did. Kiku and Francis each grabbed an arm and began to pull. Ludwig immediately screamed in pain. His legs were still too stuck to move, and pulling him too hard might make them come off with the condition they were in. They had no choice, they had to find more people strong enough to help removed the heavier debris. It was their only hope of helping Ludwig.  
       "I'm sorry," Kiku said mournfully, "We can't move these on our own, we need to find more people."  
       "It's okay.." Ludwig replied, his voice now raspy from screaming, "My brother went to the pool at lunch, he should still be there...please find him and bring him here."  
       "We'll go there right now," Francis told him, "We'll bring him back, safe and sound."  
       "Please hurry.." Ludwig whimpered in pain.  
       Kiku and Francis headed back into the hall and to the stairs. Luckily, the stairs going down were still mostly in tact. The two carefully made it down the stairs and headed towards the school's indoor pool. The Phs Ed wing was mostly in tact; this was added on in recent years, and it was well built so the roof wouldn't cave in on itself if there was ever an earthquake. Today just happened to be a day where anyone should be grateful to have a gym class.  
       They opened the doors to the room where the pool was. Most of the water had gone anywhere except the pool, but there was still a small amount in the bottom. Water dripped from the ceiling in large quantities, and created massive puddles on the ground. The entire room smelt like chlorine. The two walked around the room, their shoes slashing in the puddles. This didn't go unnoticed for long. A voice called, "Who's there?", from underneath the stands.  
       "We're Kiku and Francis!" Kiku called back.  
       Elizaveta poked her head out from beneath the stands, then quickly climbed out. She was in the swim team's wetsuit, and soaked for very obvious reasons. Others soon followed her out, including Gilbert, Jett* and the rest of the swim team. With Elizaveta, Gilbert and Jett alone, they would have enough people to lift the beam. Now with the entire swim team, they could clear everything off Ludwig in no time.  
       "You must come with us, quickly!" Francis shouted.  
       "Ludwig is in trouble!" Kiku followed.  
       Without any hesitation at all, Gilbert panicked and ran over. The swim team quickly followed.  
       "Where is he?!" Gilbert demanded.   
       "Follow us," Kiku said as he headed for the doors out.  
       Before anyone could leave, there came a sound. Not just any sound, it was a shriek of something inhuman. It echoed throughout the room. Then, heavy footsteps were heard. Everyone looked in the direction the sounds were coming from, the locker room. At an unfathomable speed, everyone headed out the doors. They didn't want to know what made that sound. All they had to know was it was big, loud, and could likely kill them. This wasn't something they were ready to handle right now, if ever. No one was prepared for what it could be.


	5. Onward to Food

         When the group got to the collapsed room, they immediately began to remove the rumble. Out of everyone, Gilbert had worked the hardest. He even attempted to move the beam on his own. Upon removing the heavy debris, pools of blood began to become visible. The more that was moved, the more blood that was found. It was thick, dark and most of it still warm. Soon, the beam was moved and enough debris was out of the way to move Ludwig. As Kiku and Francis had assumed, Ludwig's legs had been crushed completely. Gilbert carefully picked up his brother and held him as if holding a baby. Quiet groans of pain seeped out of Ludwig, to which Gilbert mumbled reassurances to him.  
          "I'm taking him to the nurse's office," Gilbert said as he carried his brother out.  
          The rest of the group readily followed him. As luck would have it, the nurse's office was mostly in tact. Only a bit of fallen plaster and cracked glass. Gilbert set Ludwig down on a cot and opened the medicine cabinet. Only, he didn't know the correct procedure to helping crushed limbs. Kiku grabbed a bottle of peroxide, bandages, some think cord, and a couple things to make splints. He tied the cord around his legs, about two inches above the wounds; and tightly. He disinfected the wounds with the peroxide and began bandaging them up. He put a splint on each leg then looked in the cupboard for pain killers for when Ludwig woke up. He handed them to Gilbert once he had found some; and gave him instructions to not take the cord off and not to give him more than one pill every two hours.  
          Gilbert thanked Kiku and pulled a chair next to Ludwig's cot; from that point on he remained silent. Elizaveta sat with Gilbert in case he needed any kind of emotional support through this. The rest of the swim team was either resting on the other cots or sitting on the floor. Clearing the rubble had wiped out their energy. Undoubtedly, they would soon begin to feel hungry, and clearly were already dehydrated. With this and their fear combined, Francis knew that very soon tensions would grow unless someone looked for supplies. He turned to Kiku and said, "We need to go to the cafeteria and bring things back for them." Kiku was quick to agree and the two of them headed out together.  
           Cautiously, the two headed through the halls. They listened for any others who may have gotten trapped, or anything that could have made that horrifying sound earlier. Creeks and groans of the unstable building were the only things they could hear, aside from their own footsteps. The air had an eerie stillness and smelt like dust. The stairs groaned with each step they took. As Francis pressed his foot down on a stair, the step snapped beneath him. Before he had fallen through, Kiku grabbed Francis's arm and pulled him back up to the best of his abilities. Francis earnestly thanked Kiku and hurried down the rest of the stairs with him.  
           They made their way to the cafeteria. They bypassed many piles of various types of rubble before finally reaching their destination. However, there was one problem; one major problem. The doorways to the cafeteria had caved in. The only way through this gigantic mountain of rubbish was a very small opening at the top. There was only enough room for Kiku to get through, and even then it'd be a tight fit. If Kiku went alone, he would have to make multiple trips to the kitchen to be able to bring back enough food and water for everyone. He would have to fend for himself against whatever could be on the other side. To Kiku, there was no choice. He had to take the risk no matter what.  
            "If I can, I'll find a way for you to get through," Kiku said to Francis, "If I can't, I will have to do this on my own."  
            "You don't know what could be back there," Francis replied, "We should look for a way for me to join you, it's dangerous to go alone."  
            "I'll be okay, I promise," Kiku said softly as he patted Francis's shoulder, "I'll be sure to be careful."  
            Francis shook his head, still determined to find a way to go across with Kiku. He looked around the heap for any possible ways to access the other side. It was to no avail. Kiku sighed and began climbing up the rubble. Once he reached the peak, he looked down at Francis and told, "I'll be as fast as I can, don't worry." Before Francis could object, Kiku wriggled through the tiny opening at the top. Once on the other side, Kiku slid down the heap and onto the floor of the cafeteria. Behind him, he heard a loud crash. When he turned to look at what made the sound, the tiny hole he had just crawled through had filled itself in.


	6. Separation

          Kiku scrambled to his feet. For the first few moments he was silent; standing there petrified. From the other side of the blockade, Kiku could hear Francis calling out to him, his voice muffled. Kiku called back to Francis, telling him that he was okay. However, it was clear that Francis was still panicking on the other side. Kiku climbed up the heap and tried to pull the fallen concrete out of the space he crawled through; it wouldn't budge. He looked around for another way through; another hole, a vent, a crack in the wall, anything. It was too dark to see much beyond the immediate area. He'd need to find a light source.  
          "I'll be alright," Kiku called out, "I just need to find a flash light."  
          He heard Francis calling back to him, but his voice was so muffled he couldn't understand him. Although there was a big chance Francis hadn't understood him either, Kiku slid down the debris once more. He jumped as he felt something cold brush against him. Without a suitable amount of light, there was no telling what it was. A light flickered in the kitchen, and Kiku made his way over to begin his search for a flash light. The cafeteria itself was very dark. He often found himself tripping over small holes in the floor, or walking into tables and chairs. Soon enough, he reached the kitchen and opened the door.  
          The fluorescent light swayed back and forth. Most of the room was still not well lit, but it was enough to see most things. When Kiku first stepped in he had nearly slipped, it seemed that the grease in the fryers had spilt all over the floor. He carefully began searching the drawers and cupboards; most of which were filled mainly with broken dishes. At last, he opened the drawer that held the flash light. He turned it on and waved it around the room. What he saw on the floor was not grease. The floor had a light coating of dark brown ooze. Kiku felt his heart skip a beat and desperately wanted to get out of there; but he was there for a reason. He would have gotten himself trapped for no reason had he left now.  
           He quickly looked for the refrigerator, only to see that it had a padlock on it. Kiku looked around the room more. He checked every place he could think of; drawers, cabinets, under the stove and fridge. There was no sign of the key. There was only one other solution he could muster. Every year the custodians had to cut locks off of lockers in order to have them cleaned, they were bound to still have the tools handy. All he needed to do was find another way out so he could get to the tools.  
           Kiku walked out of the kitchen to search for an air duct near the mound. As he opened the door, a small figure was dimly illuminated at the far side of the room. The figure seemed human shaped. However, the flash light didn't shine enough light to reveal any more than the size and shape. Kiku cautiously walked to the other side of the room, towards the mound and the figure. As he got closer, he noticed that the figure couldn't have been much larger than Feliciano or Lovino. In noticing this Kiku relaxed and felt safe enough to approach the figure.  
          As he got closer, and the light shone brighter, something became clear. The light wasn't drawing any attention from this figure. In fact, the figure didn't seem to move or react much at all. They just stood there, staring at the mound. He pointed the light down towards where the figure was looking. His chest felt hollow upon looking. Kiku's eyes widened and he lost grip on his flash light. There was blood, a lot of blood, spattered across part of the mound. Amongst all the blood, a thin and pale arm jutted out near the centre. Kiku picked up the flash light and darted over. The smell he had noticed earlier became stronger, and more putrid. He finally reached the arm and lightly felt it; it was cold. Whoever they were, they've been long dead by now.  
          An overwhelming sadness washed over Kiku. He clenched his eyelids shut and held his hands over his face. Kneeling by the arm, he began weeping. At first the weeping was quiet, but slowly increased in volume. Many times he would try to control himself, but would just sob louder with every attempt. He curled up against the mound and cried a while longer. Eventually he opened his eyes once again and wiped the tears from his eyes. He carefully picked up the flash light and looked towards where the figure was standing. They were gone.


	7. Hide and Seek

          Kiku picked himself up off the floor. There were several things he had no choice but to accept now. His school was in shambles, with unknown and inhuman creatures lurking around. He was all alone with a dead person before him. There was a looming threat of his classmates going insane due to starvation and dehydration. Kiku had to get a grip on himself. If he let his emotions get the better of him now, he'd be vulnerable to whatever creatures now roamed the halls.  
          Kiku closed his eyes and inhaled deeply; one breath, two breaths, three breaths. His shaking calmed some, his body became more at ease. Slowly, Kiku opened his eyes once more. He started his way up the heap. There was a strange heaviness in the air, the air felt so thick it practically weighed him down. Just a little further, Kiku told himself. At last, he reached the top. He waved the flash light around in search of an air vent. He was in luck, there was one just a few feet from him. The grate had fallen off during the earthquakes and he'd be able to climb inside. Kiku felt such joy in seeing this. He could get out of here. He won't have to be alone in there.  
          Promptly, Kiku climbed into the air vent. The space was tight, even for someone as small as he was, but somehow the confines were more comfortable than the openness of the cafeteria. Wriggling through the vents, he heard creaking and groaning from the metal. A heavy scent of dust surrounded Kiku. Breathing was difficult, often accompanied by sneezing and coughing. Soon enough, he reached another grate. The grate was still attached, but only loosely. It was easy for Kiku to push it off.  
          Kiku slipped out of the vent, nearly landing square on his face. Undeterred, he scrabbled to his feet once more. After a quick glance around, he realised he was in the math hall. This wasn't too far from the entrance to the cafeteria, so Kiku hoped that Francis would still be near. He made his way down the hall, tripping over a couple piles of rubble along the way.   
          After making it halfway down the hall, he heard something. The sounds echoed from down the hall; the sounds of scraping, shuffling footsteps. Could this be Francis? Kiku asked himself as he continued down the hall. The footsteps sounded closer. Kiku moved faster so he could meet up with his friend. He had gotten to the other end of the hall very quickly. He looked down the other hall, towards the footsteps. Kiku saw a human figure in the shadows and instinctively ran towards it. He didn't care who this person was; it could be the most annoying, disgusting person in the world and it wouldn't even matter. As long as they were another person, he'd be happy he wasn't alone.  
          Then, he raised his flash light. He stopped immediately. The joy of seeing another person quickly faded. This wasn't his friend. This wasn't a person. This was a thing. A gnarled, nasty thing with the grin of a skeleton. It's eyes were hollowed holes. It's limbs were long and spider-like. The fingers long and tipped with talons. The worst part wasn't even it's disgusting appearance. The worst part about this thing, was it's laugh.  It cackled a raspy, disgusting laugh. It had been doing that since the very moment Kiku had stopped running towards it.  
          Without much hesitation, Kiku turned and sprinted the other direction. He could hear the creatures scraping footsteps behind him. Every second it sounded closer. This thing was clearly faster than he was, running was futile. He turned a corner and entered another hallway lined with lockers. With another spurt of luck, one of the lockers was open. Kiku darted towards the locker and shut it quietly. Through the slits in the top of the locker, he could see the gnarled creature run past the locker.  
           After a short while, he could no longer hear it. After a sigh of relief, Kiku went to nudge the door open. It wouldn't move. He tired again and again, but no such luck. It must have been locked, but it couldn't have been. There was no lock on this locker. If there was, it wouldn't have been open in the first place. Alas, there he was, stuck in a locker like a tiny freshmen. Kiku peered out the slits, hoping someone might pass by. He was trapped again.


End file.
